


Mute and Reboot

by Aphasioutta



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Frank is a good husband, Hurt Matt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sensory Overload, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aphasioutta/pseuds/Aphasioutta
Summary: Matt breaks for a minute, and Frank picks up the pieces."For as tough as Matt is, he does have an actual breaking point. It's rare for Matt to succumb to it, to let the world overwhelm him, but every once in a while, he just loses it."Like tonight, for example."





	Mute and Reboot

For as tough as Matt is, he does have an actual breaking point. It's rare for Matt to succumb to it, to let the world overwhelm him, but every once in a while, he just loses it.

 

Like tonight, for example.

 

Frank had just come back to the apartment to find Matt, silly red pajamas half-discarded across the floor, huddled in a corner with his face buried in his hands. Frank dropped his gear by the door and booked it over to him, of course. Was Matt hurt, beyond the usual shit? Was it poison? Was he shot? The guy was hyperventilating, shaking like a leaf. His skin was cold and clammy when Frank touched his shoulder.

 

“Red, what’s wrong? What’sa matter?” Frank had both his hands on Matt’s shoulders, trying to pull him out of the ball he had curled into. How could he help him? Anything, he’d do it, but he had to see what was wrong.

 

Matt flinched away at first, snarling like a wounded animal. The sound trailed off into a whine, and the man rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms, manic hands wandering up to pull at his hair. Frank came as close as he could without touching him. “Jeez, baby, what happened to you? You gotta tell me what’s wrong. Did someone hurt you?”

 

“F--Frank….” Matt sobbed, voice almost too quiet to hear. “No...it--it’s too much.”

 

“What is? You’re scarin’ me.” Frank felt a little helpless. Something was torturing the man he loved, and it wasn’t something he could just shoot.

 

Matt wasn’t answering, had taken to shaking his head and sobbing again. Frank was a heartbeat away from caving and calling Claire when Red finally said something. “There are people downstairs fucking like it’s their last day on Earth. There’s a white noise machine across the hall that’s like nails on a chalkboard. Someone started a brawl in the bar across the street, glass and bones getting broken and it’s so  _ loud.  _ There are sirens seven--no, eight blocks over and it feels like they’re right here in my fucking apartment and  _ I can’t, Frank, I need it to stop. _ ”

 

Shit. Frank should have realized, of course Matt would get sensory overload from time to time. How could he not, with the shit he’s able to hear and smell and pick up on in ways that Frank can’t even imagine? He had to help his Red. He went back to his bag, grabbed an old set of earmuffs from a pocket he didn’t open up very often. He was used to guns and noise and chaos, he usually didn’t need ‘em, but this might get Red to calm down a little.

 

He kneeled down by Matt and held the headset at the ready. “Hey Matt, I need you to trust me. Focus on me. Can I touch you?”

 

Matt responded by reaching out and grabbing Frank’s arm with a bruising grip. Tears were streaming down his face. “Don’t care what you do, please just make it stop. Please, Frank.”

 

Frank didn’t need any more encouragement. He fixed the muffs over Matt’s ears, noting the relieved sigh when Matt wasn’t bombarded by noise anymore. His fingers (the ones that weren’t still clutching Frank) gingerly touched the headset, trembling a little.

 

“Can you hear me?” Frank asked at a more natural volume.

 

Matt nodded slowly. “You’re muffled...everything is weird...but yeah. I can’t hear the neighbors anymore. Or the brawl.” He smiled a little at that, but it was watery. His grip on Frank’s arm relaxed by a hair.

 

Frank wanted to touch him, hold him and protect him from his own damn mind, but he didn’t want to do anything to set him off again. He had seen dudes in shell shock lose it from something as simple as a pat on the back; he knew how trepidatious breakdowns like these could be. He shouldn’t have worried. Almost immediately, Matt crawled into Frank’s lap and held on tight enough to crush anyone else, face buried in his shirt. Frank couldn’t tell if he was still crying or not, he just knew his man was cold, shaking, and still gasping for air, but it didn’t matter. He was here for his Red, even if all that entailed was holding him a while.

 

“Sometimes it’s just too much, and I’m too tired to ignore it,” Matt mumbled into Frank’s chest, Frank only catching most of the words. “I mean, it’s not just sound. I can smell the homeless guys’ BO downstairs, I can taste the blood soaked into the dirt on the bottom of your boots, just from the particles in the air. I can feel your blood pumping in your veins, and the rumble in your lungs from where you almost definitely had pneumonia as a kid. It’s everything, so much information coming in at once, I try to handle it but sometimes I…guess I’m not...strong enough.”

 

Frank almost couldn’t hear the last bit--Matt had done that on purpose. Frank knew why he tried to slip it past him--it immediately made him angry. He tried to be gentle, but his grip tightened around Red despite himself. “Matt, you are  _ so _ strong. I can’t even begin to tell you how much you fucking amaze me with your self-control and your morals and the way you’re able to do the things you do. You’re the strongest man I’ve ever met.” He was talking through gritted teeth, his voice was a dangerous growl. He wasn't used to talking about him, about anyone, like this. Feelings, and shit, weren't really his thing. But Matt needed to hear it, and he needed to say it; hearing Matt talk about himself like that got under his skin like nothing else. It hurt.

 

Matt seemed to think for a long time about how to respond. It gave Frank a moment to settle down, remember that Matt’s well-being was more important than his temper. “You make me stronger,” Matt finally murmured, so soft that Frank felt it more than heard it. “You being here, with me. Just knowing you exist. It helps more than anything.”

 

_ Damn it, Frank, you’re not gonna cry. _ He had to take a breath and count to ten, swallow that lump in his throat and hold all the gooey shit back. Matt was the one who needed to be held and loved and validated right now, and he wasn’t going to turn the tables.

 

Matt didn’t need an answer, he knew exactly what he made Frank feel. Neither spoke for a while, they just clung to each other and waited out all the pain-in-the-ass, absolutely awesome sentiment. Finally, when he felt like they were both calmed down enough, Frank ran a hand up and down Matt’s back to get his attention. “Lemme run you a bath, Alterboy.”

 

Frank led Matt to the bathroom. He was a bit shaky, his knees kind of weak, but he made it without an incident. His shirt was long gone, but his pants were still on. Frank helped him step out of them, and sat him on the toilet while he got the tub filled. The hot water did wonders for Matt, his muscles loosened and his face stopped looking so panicked and pained. Frank sat on the floor by him, stroked his hair once he’d had permission, washed him gently with a warm rag. They were both silent, Matt languishing in the silence and Frank focused on making him feel calm and good and safe.

 

Matt opted to take off the earmuffs to wash his hair, letting his head sit in the water while Frank scrubbed the grime from his scalp, so any sound was still muted. He gasped at the feeling of Frank’s rough fingers in his hair, scrubbing his skin with so much tenderness. Frank couldn’t help but smile as Matt sighed and inched back to a normal mindset.  _ He _ did that,  _ he _ helped his Red feel human again, and that filled him with more pride and joy than any kill ever had.

 

Frank picked out the softest, fluffiest, freshest towel for Matt when they were done, and took extra time making sure his skin and hair was dry and warm. Matt opted to leave the earmuffs off after the bath.

 

“You sure you don’t want ‘em?” Frank asked.

 

Matt nodded. “It isn’t so bad anymore. It’s a weeknight, almost everyone’s asleep. It’s quieter.”

 

Frank took the quickest two-minute shower in history while Matt brushed his teeth. He made sure they were both clean and dry, that no odors were around to bother Matt and that nothing on them or the bed would cause any dicomfort. Frank laid him down and wrapped him up in silk and fleece, the two things he knew Matt actually enjoyed the sensations of, and nestled in behind him, engulfing him in warmth and security.

 

“Thank you, Frank,” Matt whispered. He looked exhausted, eyes heavy and body pliant, but there was a grateful little smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “It would’ve been hell without you.”

 

“Don’t sweat it. It’s what I’m here for.” He nuzzled the back of Matt’s neck, savored the chuckle that was so characteristic of his husband.

 

Matt was passing out quick, Frank could tell from his breathing. But he seemed less troubled now, even happy, and that made everything Frank had done tonight worth it. “I love you,” Matt whispered, somewhere between awake and asleep. His voice was dreamy and calm, and somewhere deep inside, Frank’s heart melted.

 

“Love you too, Red.”

**Author's Note:**

> My first fluffy, non-smutty fic. Let me know how I did! Love y'all <3


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